


Trust Yourself

by Birdfluff



Category: Borderlands (Video Games)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Canon-Typical Violence, Grinding, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Siren Rhys, Trans Rhys, Wall Sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-15
Updated: 2019-07-15
Packaged: 2020-06-26 19:20:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,244
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19774747
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Birdfluff/pseuds/Birdfluff
Summary: It was commonplace to trust the people around you when it comes to difficult decisions... however, Rhys was shit at that. (takes place during Episode 3)





	Trust Yourself

This day couldn’t get any better. Hugo Vasquez and August found them in the abandoned ATLAS base and now flying robots with guns were pointed at Rhys and Fiona. Of course, Fiona decided to take the initiative and pull a homemade grenade out of her pocket with some loose wires stapled onto it for pizzaz while Handsome Jack was becoming frantic with how long Rhys lingered on his decision. 

To either trust Fiona or to trust Jack.

Weighing the odds on both of them gave him the impression that neither one was going to work out in his favor. Fiona’s grenade should not be able to work and if it did, what then? They fall down into the abyss? Get shot by robots? Rhys being forced to watch Vaughn die in front of his eyes? Then there’s Handsome Jack, stuck in his head. What good would he be in Rhys’ systems? Could he control the robots and then what? Handsome Jack was his hero but being with him for the last twenty-four hours had Rhys questioning why he idolized him enough to get posters amongst other things.

Looking down at his hand, there were tattoos that marked him as a powerful supernatural being. A power he didn’t want. A power he was horrified to try to use. He never told anyone. Not even Vaughn. He wanted it to be dead as the idea of him once being the opposite gender. Burn everything that once was and never will be and smother the ashes. 

He was Rhys Strongfork and, dammit, he will die with that name. 

He wanted to keep being a Siren secret with no “until”s. But seeing Vaughn squirming in Vasquez’ arms with a gun pointed to his temple made his gut boil fiercely. Hugo was a dead man walking.

Handsome Jack threw his hands in front of Rhys. “Yo! Cupcake! Are you deaf?! Stop making me repeat myself!”

“Shut up!”

Fiona shot him an accusatory look. “You shut up!”

It was now or dead later. “Fiona, I’ve got this.”

“What!?”

“I’ve got this!”

“With what?! You have nothing!”

Jack scoffed, staring at him with disdain, “She’s right, kid. You’ve got nothing, except me! What the hell are you going to do? Code them to death?!”

“I have something else up my sleeve… li--literally.” Did he trust himself to not get killed in the process? No, not at all, but it was all he had. He trusted himself to keep Vaughn safe with what he was about to do. The tattoos under his clothes glowed a light blue as his eyes became engulfed with purples and yellows. Glistening wings sprouted and splayed valiantly from his back. He wanted to relish in the awestruck looks he was receiving. He wanted to say something manly and cool but for once his mind was blank. At his will, the robots combusted one at the time, the ones that were counting the seconds before exploding zipped around the room whirling in fear until they met their end. Raising his hands as he soared upwards, the platform raised and the glass cracked and splattered--but then the pieces froze in mid fall. They dangled there uselessly. No one dared to move but Rhys. Then he started to get shot at. Any guns suddenly grew hot and detonated in their hands. His focus was solely on Vasquez who had released Vaughn and was now shaking his hand frantically from the burn. Rhys dive bombed and decked him with his cybernetic arm that sent Hugo flying into the far wall. 

Taking advantage of the situation, Sasha shoved August away and grabbed Fiona and ran for the exit while ducking under glass shards. Vaughn, who was still intoxicated from surprise, stood there with his mouth open, watching Rhys fly around and scaring the shit out of August’s goons, including August himself. He could hear bullets and explosions but he only thing he could see was people dying left and right. 

“Fiona!” Sasha yelled over the noise. “Get Rhys to open the door!”

Biting her lip, Fiona adjusted the metal ball under her arm and waved. “Hey! Rhys! We can’t get out!”

“Stand back!” He hollered. Without giving them time to move, he extended his hands towards the door and curled them into fists. Reacting, the door let out a horrible shriek as it bended to Rhys’ power and tore itself down onto the floor. “Go!”

Loaderbot suddenly scooped Vaughn up and used his rocket jets to propel them out. Panicking Vaughn sought out for his best friend who was continuing to cause mayhem. The walls and ceiling were shaking. Vasquez was screaming and his whole arm was gone. The place was coming down and Rhys wasn’t noticing. Vaughn’s voice cracked as he screamed, “Rhys!!”

“Vaughn!” Following after him, Rhys zoomed by them like a comet and all he could remember next was falling onto the dusty sand outside.

For the last hour, Vaughn had been hovering over Rhys’ unconscious body in the back of the van while Fiona and Sasha rested on the couch, listening to Athena attempting to explain Sirens.

Fiona shook her head. “I just don’t get why Rhys would decide to work for Hyperion even though he was a Siren. He can’t be that stupid to put himself into that much of a risk. You know what Handsome Jack _did_ to Sirens or was that all covered up back at Helios?”

“Are you talking to me?” Vaughn asked almost in a whisper.

“Yes, I’m talking to you. You know him better than the rest of us.”

“... All we knew up there is that Handsome Jack died like a hero. We’ve been working at Hyperion for more than a couple of years, before Jack took over. Rhys couldn’t have known.” His shoulders straightened up. “I just remembered something. I remembered that--how scared he got when we found out how far Jack would go to get and use a Siren-- when-- after he lost his daughter. They tried to keep that patched up but it was too late. Rhys locked himself in his dorm… I could hear him... crying. He looked and acted dead inside for about a week and he wouldn’t let me or Yvette in… I’m just glad I know why now. I think he really tried to let me in back then but he couldn’t.”

“Shit...” Sasha brought the Gortys Project into her chest. “No wonder he was pissed off. I can’t imagine how much crap he’s repressed.”

“That doesn’t change the fact that he’s dangerous.” Athena inserted her two cents.

Vaughn hopped onto his feet, glowering. “Rhys isn’t dangerous!”

“He left that ATLAS facility in a worse state than I did and that’s saying something.”

“Vaughn, Rhys tore that statue down and was throwing those rocks everywhere WITH HIS MIND.” Sasha emphasized by pointing at her forehead. “He almost hit us!”

Fiona solemnly nodded. “We need to do something about it. We’re already in enough trouble as it is with Vallery. I can’t imagine what Rhys would do if he was awake during that.”

“If you would just trust him, you’d know that he’d never--”

“I don’t trust him, Vaughn! Not after that. All Rhys was focused on was hurting people back there and he didn’t care who it was going to be. He murdered people in there! Why do you still trust him?”

Sasha butted in. “He would have killed YOU if Loaderbot didn’t save your ass! You were just standing there in the open. What were you thinking?”

“Stop insulting my best friend!!” Vaughn barked, taking a sharp step forward. “You have no idea what he’s like and you’ll never listen! He’d never hurt us-- He’s never hurt me! I know he wouldn’t. Rhys being a Siren changes _nothing_ about him! Like how NOTHING will change either of you for being Pandorian assholes! Rhys saved our asses! You should be thanking him!”

When Rhys woke up, he couldn’t tell if it was dead quiet or if he had become deaf or if he was dreaming. Whatever the case, he didn’t care. He inhaled a painful breath through his nose and exhaled. Everything hurt and he felt like skag crap. The next wave was full of fear and sadness. He scared… He scared his friends. He scared Vaughn. They weren’t in awe of him, that was the adrenaline talking. Fiona and Sasha were so… Rhys got carried away. He was so fueled with rage that he could barely remember what he did. He wanted to cry. When he finally opened his eyes, he hastily sit upright.

He was in the caravan and everyone was staring at him. Someone new was with them, she had purple hair and looked incredibly intimidating, yet for a moment he thought he saw her face holding a whence of sympathy. She stood there, offhandedly, as if she knew she had no place in the situation. Her gaze returned to the front window at the vibrant night sky. 

On the couch, Sasha was tightly gripping her goggles while Fiona had a protective hand on her shoulder. Vaughn-- his heart broke at the sight-- was nowhere to be seen.

Slowly, as if approaching a raging animal, Fiona rose from her seat. “Rhys…? Are you okay?”

All unadulterated anger wash over him. Briefly, his eyes lit up with a sparkling blue as he stood up. “Do I look okay?! Do I sound like I’m okay?!”

Fiona recoiled, her hand instinctively flexed so that her sleeve gun sprung into her grasp. 

Tears flooded into his eyes. Neither of them trusted each. The dou did try to throw him out of the moving caravan, but, with his emotions this high, he took it personally. They hated him because he was Hyperion, now they feared him because he was a Siren. They had good reason too. If Rhys was anything like those stooges on Helios, he would have used this power to get everything he wanted, but he wasn’t like that. This isn’t what he wanted. Rhys wanted them to trust him and he wanted to trust them. It looked like trust was the least of their concerns.

Shaking, Rhys cried in outrage and bolted out of the vehicle. He tripped on the way out and he quickly collected himself, pressing on. He heard Fiona calling after him. He shouted back, “Leave me alone!!”

He didn’t run far, something told him to stop when he passed a cliffside. He pressed his back against the cold rock and seeped onto the ground, curling into a ball. He heard a digital zap that made a chill rush up his spine. Through tearstained eyes, he met the gaze of Handsome Jack who entire body language screamed enraged.

“You’re… a Siren.” When Rhys didn’t answer, Jack belted, making him cover his ears. “YOU ARE A SIIIREEEEEN!”

“I KNOW WHAT I AM!”

“Why didn’t you tell me?! Hell, why didn’t you tell me when I wasn’t a hologram?! What is wrong with you?”

“It’s not all about you, Jack!”

“Yes! It is! I could have helped you, Rhysie! You could have made my life so much easier if I knew. That promotion you want? I can double it. Vice CEO, you could have the damn world in your hands!”

“That wasn’t what I wanted!”

“What?! You have this freakin’ all powerful shit that would have gotten you everything! If I had that power, Rhysie, you know I’d--”

“I’m not you!” Rhys was in his face now, tears flowing down his face like a waterfall, desperate and full of despair. “I’m not you, Jack! I don’t think I want to be you anymore…! I never _wanted_ to be a Siren. I’ve got news for you, Jack, being a Siren isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, okay?! Not when… I’m… me…” He stepped away and buried his face in his hands.  
“You have _no_ idea how demeaning it is to wake up and remember that you’ll never be who you want to be. I’ve worked so hard to keep this a secret from EVERYONE! I knew the risks but I needed the rewards. I needed to feel like I could make something of myself. Whenever word gets out that I’m a Siren, I won’t be Rhys anymore… and I don’t want that. But what do you know? You’re Handsome Fucking Jack-- you don’t care. You have never cared about me.”

Handsome Jack stared at him with huge eyes that blinked fervently. “Rhysie… I… You’re right. I had no idea. That kind of power is too much, I get that. I really do, but listen--”

Rhys jerked away from his touch. “Don’t. Touch me.”

“Not like I can actually touch you, pumpkin. Let me start over: I’m sorry. This is a big deal, you want to climb up that ladder the old fashion way, I can respect that. I mean, you have killed a lot of people to get here, that’s normal. I’m just gonna say this. I can protect you. Whatever happens-- you don’t have to lift a finger. You are going to get what you want after all this.”

“You’re a hologram, how can you protect me?”

Handsome Jack tapped his temple with a smile.

“You-- no, Jack.”

He threw his arms down, exasperated. “What? C’mon, cupcake, I can only control that metal junk on you. I would have been able to take care of those turrets if you let me in.”

“ _No_.” His tattoos lit up once more.

“Ooh, angry. I gotta admit, you are a little scary when you’re mad-- not to mention that Siren thing you’ve got goin’ for ya. You’re a real threat, Rhysie. I mean, the world's gonna know you’re a Siren, why not go out with a bang? Hunt all the Vaults you want. It’ll be real easy for you.”

“I’m--I’m not--”

“Rhys…?”

Jumping out of his skin, Rhys stumbled and fell on his rear. Jack’s digital form vanished when Rhys’ head hit the hard sand. Groaning, he wiped the still streaming tears from his damp face and stared. “V-Vaughn...” _You’re a real threat._ “I-I’m sorry, I didn’t tell you, okay!? D-don’t get near me! I-I’ll hurt you.”

“You won’t hurt me.” Determined, Vaughn pressed onward.

“I’m a threat! You saw what I did!” Rhys crawled backwards, his voice becoming more shrill moment by moment. “Fiona pulled her gun on me! I can’t let you get close!”

“She what?!” Vaughn grimaced. “I am so-- Rhys! I-I know you were talking to Jack. I have no idea what he said to you but you’re not going to hurt me, I promise! You’re not a threat!”

“Yes, I am! You know what people like me are capable of doing!! Please, stop!” He put his hands up and a purple orb suddenly engulfed and locked Vaughn into place as it lifted him a foot into the air. Rhys couldn’t bare to look at his heartbroken face. Standing up, he continued to move away step by step. “Just go back to the van, Vaughn… please. You’ll be safer with them.”

“I’m not leaving without you, Rhys. I’m coming with you.”

“That’s suicide, Vaughn. C’mon, you’re supposed to be the voice of reason.”

“Why do you think I followed you?! I trust you, Rhys!”

That released him from the supernatural shackles and the landing knocked the wind out of him. He stayed there until his stomach stopped doing flips. He lifted his head to find Rhys had fallen onto his knees. He looked at him with unblinking expectancy. His hands were still out as if Rhys was still locking him in place. After easing onto his feet, Vaughn timidly reapproached his best friend.  
At his light touch, Rhys violently flinched and withdrew his hands into his chest. Vaughn frowned, wondering what awful thoughts were rummaging through his best friend’s head. He wondered if he could even soothe one of them.

“I trust you, Rhys.” Vaughn repeated, taking him by the wrists. “You won’t hurt me. I promise. I know you, Rhys, I thought-- I totally get why you kept this from me. I don’t hate you. I’m not scared of you. Sure, what happened in there was frightening because I have never seen that side of you before. You were so… so angry. I was more scared about you hurting yourself than anything else. I-I know you hate it, but… it was kind of cool… seeing you fly around like that. Maybe, I shouldn’t have said that. I don’t think you want to hear--”

“You… You thought I looked cool...?” Rhys managed to cough out between sobs.

“Of course, bro. You were frickin’ awesome!”

“Really…?”

“Yeah, man. You punted Vasquez in his dumb smug face for me! I think you did more than break his nose.”

“Good-- we’re even then.” Rhys didn’t want to talk about this further. For once, he wasn’t thinking about how amazing it would feel to humiliate Hugo, but when Rhys finally stood up to him, it was in a way he shouldn’t have. He had dreams of going Siren on him but that wasn’t how he wanted to use his abilities. Rhys wasn’t a killer-- he hoped he wasn’t. He didn’t enjoy it like Jack did. It was getting harder for him to breath through his nose. He slipped out of his touch and wrapped his hands gingerly around his hips. “I didn’t hurt you at all, did I?”

“Rhys, look at me, I’m fine. Seriously. You didn’t hurt me, or Fiona, or Sasha. August may have crapped his pants, though.”

Rhys let himself laugh but it was short lived as it turned back into crying. He rested his head on Vaughn’s chest as his heart ached. “I’m so stupid.”

“You wanting to protect us wasn’t stupid, Rhys.” Vaughn lovingly ran his fingers through his hair. “You took a giant risk and I’m honestly really grateful that you did it. I have no idea what Fiona was going to do with that grenade. I don’t think it was enough to break glass...”

“I ruined my chance, Vaughn. _Our_ chance. I can’t go back to Helios now-- not like I can anyway, but now I definitely can’t go back because the whole world knows I’m a _Siren_! Everything we worked so hard for… it’s just gone. Yvette must hate me for keeping this from her.”

“... I don’t hate you... Look, we might just have to start over, you know?”

He sniffled, “Start over?”

“Yeah, let’s make some new dreams--aspirations. To… Together. Just… just us. We may not become CEOs of Hyperion, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t make something of ourselves, you know? We just gotta work harder.”

“You saying we become bandits?”

“Not exactly. I was thinking about setting up our own business. Down here on Pandora. It doesn’t have to be set in stone. Unless you want to become bandits, I’m cool with that. I’m good with whatever you want to do, Rhys.”

Slowly, a smile spread across his lips. He sat down and opened his arms. “Bring it in, bro.”

With a grin, Vaughn leaped into his embrace and wrapped his legs around his waist. Rhys adored his hugs. They brought him such an immense amount of comfort and now it was soothing his aching heart. He hated being a Siren. It was the one thing he couldn’t do about unlike the surgeries and testosterone intakes, but with Vaughn around, he felt like it was possible to tolerate his insecurities better. 

Vaughn had no idea but that was okay. Rhys nuzzled his shoulder and lightly kissed the crook of his neck. “I’m still sorry that I never told you… I trust you, you know I do.”

“Man, c’mon, I get that! I can’t imagine what all this must like for you. The pain… it… just know that I’m here for you, okay?”

“You’re awesome, bro. You know that, right?”

“It’s something I’d like to hear more often, honestly.”

“Well, now, you’re gonna be hearing it an awful lot, because you’re just so damn cool.” Rhys peppered his face with kisses that sent Vaughn into a giggle fit.

“Rhys…! Haha! I’m glad you’re feeling better.”

“With you? Always.”

Vaughn gave a cute snort. “That was so cheesy--! You’re lucky I like that.”

“Mmm, I feel sooo lucky.”

Vaughn adored seeing this side of Rhys. How he smiling so sweetly and how close he was getting to his mouth. If anything, Vaughn was lucky to have Rhys. He was lucky to be able to calm him down and help him feel safe just by offering his presence. Vaughn never thought himself to be deserving of this kind of friendship. With how deeply Rhys was kissing him, with how his hands crawled underneath his shirt, Vaughn tugged him closer as he let out a small whine. It was definitely more than a simple friendship. Rhys being a Siren changed nothing about this relationship and Vaughn needed Rhys to know that.

Vaughn coaxed his mouth open by pulling on his tie. Rhys moaned and tightened the embrace, which encouraged Vaughn to keep moving his tongue as his hands explored under his vest. He was curious about his tattoos. He always thought Rhys just had a huge sleeve that went to his hand, but he heard that Sirens normally have tattoos all over. His imagination went straight into the gutter as he thought about how nice it would be to press his mouth every inch of his skin that was decorated with blue. It made sense now, well, well... It made sense before. Rhys wasn’t comfortable with showing his genitalia but on top of being a Siren too with those tattoos… Vaughn wondered if this apropos thinking was assuming too much. Maybe, he was getting too turned on by Rhys’ breathless noises.

Pulling away, Vaughn smiled at his starstruck expression. Chuckling, he slid off his lap and he nudged him when he whined. “C’mon, Rhys, we shouldn’t be out too long-- if uh, they didn’t abandon us. I am totally going to have a word with Fiona. That was so uncalled for!”

Rhys pouted, grumbling to himself as he stood up. The only words Vaughn could make out was “kiss you”.

“I’d rather make out in the comfort of being inside something metal.”

Finally, Rhys smiled. He clapped his shoulder and brought him into his side as they walked. “I guess you’re right.”

As they returned to the abandoned ATLAS building, the caravan was still in the same spot they left it, but something was off. Vaughn stepped inside, looking around, “Hellooo? Fiona? Sasha? Athena?”

Rhys blinked. “Athena?”

“Oh, right, you were knocked out. Athena saved us from Vallery.”

“From… who?”

“It’s, uh, you know what, I’ll tell you later. It’s not important right now.” Vaughn scoped the area around the vehicle, scratching his head. “There’s no blood or anything or signs of a struggle. I wonder if they went looking for you...”

“Yeah, I doubt that. By the way, Vaughn, where were you when I woke up?”

“... Peeing.” Vaughn lied. He definitely didn’t go outside to mope and kick pebbles around. “I heard you and then Fiona shouting. I saw her go back inside then I ran after you.”

Rhys simply shrugged and stepped into the car. “Whatever. It gives me time to think about what to say at least. If they aren’t back in an hour or something, I’ll… fly around, I guess.”

Vaughn shut the door behind them. “You do have wings! You know in that moment I thought I was going crazy-- like a trick of the light or something. Do they take up space? Wait, crap, you don’t want to talk about being a Siren, do you?”

“It’s all over and done with, Vaughn, but I appreciate it. And no, they don’t take up space. They’re made of light if I had to guess.”

“You don’t know?”

“Dude, when I found out, I tried to figure it out. They don’t exactly have books on stuff like this that have facts. You can imagine the pictures...”

“They were naked, weren’t they?”

“Absolutely. Shaved pubic hair and all.”

Vaughn scoffed, wrinkling his nose, “Men.”

“Vaughn, I hate to break it to you but we are also men.”

“Clearly, but we’re not straight. Not to mention the author and the artist are clearly transphobic.”

That got Rhys to genuinely laugh, which made Vaughn’s heart feel lighter. “You’ve got that right, bro.”

“So, bro, it really is okay if I ask questions?”

“Lay it on me.”

“How do you-- the tattoos, they glow?”

“Yeah, I have no idea. I’ve read that it’s probably Eriduim-type stuff-- I’ve tried it. It made my whole body glow and energized me, but it didn’t give me visions.”

“The book told you that?”

“Yeah. Honestly, I just want to prove the guy wrong.”

Vaughn chuckled, “I would… What about the tattoos. Did they really just appear one day?”

Rhys’ composure fell as well as his head. “Yeah, they did. Mom didn’t like it.”

“So, that’s how it started…?”

“Yeah, she--she kept me in line.”

“You never… you know.”

“No. I was terrified.”

“Let’s get off the subject--” Vaughn cleared his throat and asked, “The tattoos… how uh, far do they go?”

Rhys hand pointed to each part of his body as he spoke “Goes to my arm, this side of my chest, down the side, hip, and all the way down my leg.” He pulled up his pants sleeve to reveal and exquisite pattern on his shin. “See?”

“Whoa...”

For such a little noise, it held a lot of raw emotion behind it. Rhys knew he was curious. Since he was feeling generous and somewhat desperate to make out with his best friend again, he refused to speak as he slid his vest off his shoulder then removed the tie from his neck before tossing them onto the table. Maybe he needed this, for someone to see him like this, someone he truly trusted. Maybe touching him too. Imagining it brought him a sense of ease if not a touch of anxiety. He was halfway through plucking the buttons out of their holes. As he looked to Vaughn, he found himself smiling at his gaping jaw. His hands were twitching too.

“You okay, big cat?”

“Don’t you ever call me that.” He snapped. “I-- Crap, was I staring? I was totally staring, wasn’t I?”

“Don’t apologize for being half chub, bro.”

“Rhys!” He gave a shrill and turned around, his hands clawed at his hair in a panic.

“What!? You’re acting like I’ve never seen it!”

“I-- Arrguh, why do tease me like this?”

“Payback, mostly. I don’t get to see you squirm often.”

“How is that payback? You always ask me to--” Vaughn stopped himself. He peered around as if someone was going to hear them. “You know...”

“Yeah, because it’s hot and sexy when you do it.” That and Rhys barely had the confidence to figure out when to thrust or what to say during. Not to mention they don’t do it as often as either of them would like with the amount of work they had at Hyperion. It was different... Right now, with Vaughn all flustered like this, it breed newfound confidence in him as he undid the last button. “Does this change your mind?”

Rhys watched where his eyes darted with a coy smirk. “A little.”

With a flair, Rhys whipped his shirt off, puffing his chest out. “How about now?”

Vaughn gulped and said in a small voice, “Shhit.”

“Mmm, all according to plan.”

“Shut up, you.”

“C’mon, you wanna touch it.”

“That’s… okay?”

“I wouldn’t go so far to let you not touch me, bro.”

Hesitantly, Vaughn reached out and lightly placed his hand on his chest. There was only a little warmth in his palm that traced the tattoos. The gentleness in his touch gave him goosebumps. He gave a small hum. “It indents… I mean, the tattoos on this part of your skin is set deeper than... it’s slight but I don’t think this a traditional tattoo. It’s literally inside your skin!”

“Like a normal tattoo?”

Vaughn shot him a disgruntled look before travelling to his arm. “And the designs… Like here--” He traced his shoulder, “You’ve got these triangles and then this big circle-- like a sun sort of symbol thing. It’s tribal looking. Got any ideas of what it means?”

“Not a clue.”

“Hmm… Can you make it glow? Or can you not control that? Like it just happens when you use your powers.”

Rhys decided to answer that with a demonstration. For a moment, he closed his eyes. Instantaneously, the patterns brightly glowed and he snorted at Vaughn’s amazement, watching him lift his arm up and around with his eyes full of wonder.

“I can like… seriously feel it coming off you. It… whoa...” He slowly caressed down his arm until he reached his hand. Rhys wasn’t used to being handled so gently. Vaughn’s fingers brushed over his skin as if he was scared to apply too much pressure. Warmth spread like wildfire across his face when Vaughn pressed his palm against his lips. “... It has a smell.”

“Are you sure, uh, that’s not just me?”

“It doesn’t smell like sweat or your really heavy dude cologne or a gross mixture of the two.”

Rhys stuck his tongue at him.

“It kind of smells like slag but… sweet… It’s sort of addictive--Uh, ahem...” Vaughn stuttered, “Holy crap… have you ever looked at your eyes?”

“Pfft, every morning.”

“No, no, I mean-- it’s… it’s like I’m looking into a galaxy. Even your ECHO eye reacts to it.” He turned his head from side to side by using his chin. “It’s so pretty.”

Rhys giggled uncomfortably as the psychical effects deluded. 

Vaughn recoiled and took a step backward. “Too far! I was too far. I’m sorry.”

“No, no, it’s not you, bro. It’s just… I’m not used to this.” He gestured to himself. “This isn’t going to affect what we have, is it?”

“Kind of late to ask that.”

“What do you mean?”

“You’re using it on me. I already thought you were hot and that isn’t helping.”

“The… tattoos make me more attractive?”

Vaughn talked so fast that Rhys had trouble keeping up. “Well, to be honest, I’ve never seen you shirtless so that probably adds onto it and maybe I have a thing for tattoos, but that’s just me.”

“Bro, what you think of me is all that matters. It… it helps with my self esteem.”

“Aww, Rhys.”

His tone lowered as he leisurely advanced towards him. “Among other things.”

Vaughn backed up, his gaze flickering. “R-Rhys, w-w-we can’t.”

“Why not?”

“We just can’t…!”

“Tell me why.”

When he hit the wall, he scuffled over to the driver seat. “They could be coming back any minute now! You should really put your shirt back on.”

“I don’t give a shit.” Before Vaughn could make a run for it, Rhys used his abilities and jet himself forward, slamming his hands onto the sides of his head, which created a dent in the metal walls. Pinned in place, Vaughn could hardly keep himself standing as he ingested Rhys’ overpowering cologne colliding with that addictive Eridium-esque aroma. Even though he gave him shit for the way he smelled, Vaughn loved it. It was harsh but savory not to mention inebriating. To combine that with his amazingly gorgeous the clouds inside his eyes shifted and rumbled, Vaughn was absolutely incapacitated. 

“R-Rhys...?”

Fiona interrupted his story with disgust on her face. "No, no, you are skipping that. You are not talking about how you fucked Vaughn in my van."

Rhys rolled his eyes. "This guy said he wanted every detail, did you?"

The stranger in the strange getup looked down at him then towards the horizon. "I'm beginning to regret that."

"Unbelievable..." Rhys scoffed, "If Fiona had to watch me and Vaughn clean up, then both of you are going to have to listen."

"Just... please, please do not go into full detail."

Pouting, he crossed his arms. "You can't blame me for missing him... I have no idea if he's even alive right now."

"Rhys..." She huffed, "I know, but if you even say the word 'penis' or any variation, I will punch you again."

Rhys gave her a wickedly smug grin. "... I unfurled my 12 inch and thru--" Cackling, Rhys scampered backwards from the fast approaching Fiona, putting his hands out to keep distance as they circled the campsite. "I didn't say penis, Fiona! I could've been talking about a gun!"

"Oh, you wish it was a gun!" She tried to kick him but Rhys used his long limbs in his favor and jumped to the side. Groaning, she gave up since she knew this would go on forever or one of them would get shot by that guy in the mask if they didn't stop soon. "Fine! Just-- go on. Whatever. I'm not listening. Also your dick is not 12 inches."

"You don't know that. Only Vaughn has ever seen it."

"Remind me to ask him when we see him then."

All his confidence drained out of his body. "Uhhhahaaa-- don't? Ask that?"

"I thought you wanted to prove me wrong, Rhys."

"Oh, I do, but this isn't his argument--"

The kidnapper cut him off. "You two can argue about this nonsense later. I'm running out of patience."

"Fine! Fine..."

Seizing the opportunity, Rhys gathered Vaughn into his arms, encouraging him to wrap his legs around him as he firmly pressed him into the wall. Vaughn was unable to suppress a keening moan when he eagerly grinded into him. 

“We’re not on Helios anymore, Vaughn. We don’t have to pretend.” He emphasized his words with a rather aggressive love bite that made Vaughn shiver and grab his shoulders. “We don’t have to be quiet. We’re on Pandora, Vaughn. We’re free to do whatever we want. No one is going to judge us--” Rhys met his gaze. “I won’t let them.”

With big eyes, Vaughn gawked at him as one word entered his head. “Free?”

“Totally free.”

In that moment’s pause, Rhys wondered if he was taking this too far. Vaughn never let him display any public affection, repeating the excuse that doing that would ruin his image. Whenever Rhys attempted to console him on that, Vaughn brushed it off. Vaughn didn’t take bullying as well as Rhys did and it showed. Fear was ingrained in him even before they started dating in secret. Rhys was always there to back him up. He even walked out of a concert for him. He valued Vaughn and he was going to make sure he was always comfortable. Studying him now and his thoughtful expression, Rhys began loosening his grip on him. “V-Vaughn, I...”

Suddenly, Vaughn grabbed him by the back of his head, pulling him closer. The tone off his tongue was dripping with vigorous desperation, that awoke something deep inside him, “Rhys. I want it slow and I _need_ it hard and constant until I can’t breathe.”

Brushing his lips, he whispered, “Like this?”  
Rhys pressed further into him, rocking his hips in rhythmic fashion. He drank him up like an alcoholic, adoring how his eyes rolled into the back of his head and feverishly blinked.

“Mmmm… mmmhmmm...”

Their lips met with urgency as his hands fiercely gripped Vaughn’s hips, slowly but forcefully grinding on him. With a low intoxicated groan, Vaughn retaliated by pulling on his hair to close the gap further before vehemently feeling him up. Although Rhys was in full control of his powers, they reacted on his excitement from losing himself and vigorously giving his best friend everything he could offer into him. The furnishing not attached to the vehicle levitated two inches in the air and then quivered at the sound of Vaughn’s explicit grunt.

Vaughn was digging into his skin now as he thrust into him again. It stung but Rhys was too distracted to care. All he could focus on was Vaughn’s panting in his ear and he was living for every moment of it. His tiny body shivered at every little pulse Rhys made with his hips and with each one he softly vocalized his pleasure.

“You… we need to do this more often--- ah fuck...”

Rhys giggled breathlessly. He nuzzled into his cheek and gingerly kissed the corner of his mouth. “I love you, bro.”

“Hmm love you too, bro.”

“You’re cute when you get loud.”

“Shut uuuuuMmm--!” Vaughn whined before Rhys cut him off with another kiss, which immediately derailed. Their lips never waned from one another even after he pulled on Vaughn’s loose fitting belt off it’s last strap. What Rhys was doing with his hands and hips drove Vaughn’s moaning to grow more and more unruly inside his mouth that it was sending Rhys through the roof in excitement that he pushed it further until they almost simultaneously reached their climax.

Seeping with appreciation, Vaughn lazily dragged his mouth over his neck as Rhys cradled him between the wall. They welcomed comfortable silence with open arms.

“I… I think we both needed this...” Vaughn muttered, his mouth glossed over his cybernetic port that briefly sent pleasurable sparks through Rhys’ systems and made his legs buckle.

For a moment, his ECHO eye turned on and scanned his best friend, reading out his heart rate, his last impulse purchase, and then ended with ‘bro-tally rad soon-to-be-husband’. That last part he was going to keep to himself forever. 

Rhys cough the tickle out of his throat. “You sore at all, bro?”

“Yeah, man, but it feels, like, really good…” 

“Is it bad that I’m kind of mad at myself?”

“What why?”

“Heheh… if I just came clean, we could have been doing this for so long.”

“You had your reasons, Rhys. You don’t got to beat yourself up about it.”

“I know...”

“Then don’t apologize.”

Rhys will try to remember that from now on. He gave Vaughn a giddy smile and pecked his cheek. “You’re the best, man.”

“I try. Hey, uh, when did my glasses come off?”

“I moved them. They’re on your head.”

“Oh! Okay, I was afraid they fell at some point during that...”

“Speaking of, you wanna keep going?”

“Yes.” He answered quickly, which sent Rhys into another giggle fit. Embarrassed, his eyes darted around. “What??”

“I just can’t get enough of you...”

“Oh… well, good, because I feel the same way.”

Their blood ran cold when the door beside them opened and saw Fiona step into the van. When she noticed them, she jumped back and closed her eyes with her hands. “Jesus--!”

Rhys sputtered, “Uhhhh…. Hhhi?”

“Fi? What’s going on? Is Rhys-- OH!” Sasha hit the back of the door in surprise, gawking at the two.

From outside came Athena’s monotone voice, “I’m not going in there.”

“Really, you two? In OUR van?”

“D-did you do that to the wall?”

“Wha-what do you--” Rhys looked. “Ohhh, shit.”

Fiona stomped her foot. “What did you do?!”

“Nothing! It’s a… a small one.”

“Two hand sized ones.” Sasha corrected.

Vaughn coughed, “Rhys? You should put me down now.”

“... Right.”

When he made sure that his feet touched the ground once again, Rhys raced back over to the corner sofa and hurriedly put his clothes back on.

“... Um, nice 6 pack, man.” Sasha ventured to comment. Rhys shot a disapproving glance at her.

“Uhhhh, thank you?”

“Please tell me you’re both clothed...” Fiona hissed.

Rhys half heartedly fixed his tie then looked to Vaughn, who was putting on his belt. “Yes.”

Fiona removed her hand and sighed, glaring at him. Rhys glared back as he crossed his arms.

“Well?”

“Well what?”

“I’m waiting for an apology.”

“What? That I walked on you two fucking in MY van? I don’t think I gave you permission to do that.”

“Oh, we’re cracking jokes now? Pretend nothing happened? That doesn’t change that you pulled a damn gun on me!!”

“I wasn’t trying to…!” Her voice grew soft when she realized her mistake. Her gaze shifted to the floor. “It was instinct. I thought you were going to kill me. We all saw what you did back there.”

“Well, I wasn’t. I wasn’t going to kill anyone-- I’m NOT going to kill anyone! I can actually control my powers. I’m not something to be caged.”

“I-I never thought about caging you. I’m really sorry, Rhys.”

Sasha decided to step in, “And thanks for saving our asses back there. To be honest, that was really cool.”

“It was?”

“I told you.” Vaughn agreed with a smile.

“The way you just ripped that door down like it was nothing-- shit! And you _flew_! You stopped stuff from falling! That stuff just hung there! Can you do that with anything? What if I throw s--”

“Sasha!” Fiona warned.

“What? He’s a Siren.”

“And you’re making him uncomfortable.”

“I-I-I’m fine. Really. I’m more uncomfortable by how she’s looking at me.”

Fiona glanced over her shoulder at Athena. “Oh, it’s okay. She’s with us now. When you were unconscious she helped us with Vallery.”

“Who the hell is Vallery?”

“It’s… complicated. I’ll explain once we get this Gortys thing open, but first you’re going to fix that wall.”

Rhys rolled his eyes. “I think it gives it character.”

“It doesn’t.”

Rhys pouted. He simply raised and pulled his hand back, which popped the metal back into place. “... There. Happy?”

“Immensely.” Fiona said unenthusiastically as moved towards the table, placing the ball on top of it.

Sasha stepped, her hand stroking her arm. “Hey, you gonna be okay, Rhys?”

“Yeah, I’ll be fine.”

“I am really sorry about before. Maybe, we can make it up to you later-- when we get through this… Are you sure you’re okay?”

“I’ll be okay, Sasha.” Rhys took a glance over at Vaughn. “I’ll definitely be okay now.”

Blushing, Vaughn couldn’t help giggling to himself as his combed his hair to the side.

“I was totally expecting something like this to happen. You two are so not subtle about liking each other.”

Rhys smiled sheepishly. “Yeeeah, I guess not.”

“You two try and make a mess out of this van,” Fiona warned, not looking away from the Gortys Project. “I will throw you out this time, while moving.”

"Did you throw him out?" The stranger asked.

"No, unfortunately." She smiled at his raspberry and blew one back at him.

Rhys waved her off. "It would be a bad idea anyway, considering I can fly."

"I'm just glad you two were able to control yourselves, somewhat."

"Somewha-- I'm allowed to make jokes!"

"That only you found funny."

"Not true, Sasha liked my jokes. AND I got Athena to laugh a couple of times to, which you still owe me cash for. Speaking of, you've got that on you, right?"

"Ha! Now, that's a funny joke. Good one, Rhys."

"You really think making fun of a Siren is a good idea?" As he said Siren, his tattoos and eyes glowed a strong yellow that matched his new ECHO eye.

"You really think you're faster than a bullet?" Her gaze switched towards their kidnapper with a Jakobs shotgun in his hands.

"... I see your point."

"Can we move on?" The stranger asked, sounding bored out of his mind. "Talk about Gortys."

**Author's Note:**

> [ This was inspired from my own artwork](https://wingedshoreline.tumblr.com/post/186038610397/trust-yourself-fuck-tumblr-fucked-up)


End file.
